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10 Short Answer Questions with Answers.
Typology: Exercises
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Gregor is only able to move with great difficulty; he is “reduced to the condition of an ancient invalid.” He can no longer crawl on the walls or the ceiling.
Gregor’s family now leaves the living room door open because his condition “seemed serious enough” to remind them that he was a “family member.” He also poses little threat since he has practically been rendered immobile.
The charwoman is not afraid of Gregor and refers to him as “ the old dung-beetle.” She opens the door to his room but does not clean it. When Gregor attempts to attack her, she threatens to bash him with a chair.
Gregor’s room grows steadily more filthy as Grete has grown tired of seeing to it. Eventually renters move in and extra household belongings are shoved into Gregor’s room. The deterioration of his room represents the deterioration of his family’s feelings for him.
Three renters move in with the family. They are serious, bearded men who are obsessed with cleanliness. These new characters get the best of Gregor’s family’s attention.
Something stirs in Gregor when Grete plays the violin in the living room. He crawls out of his room drawn by the sound and, "it hardly occurred to him that he had become so thoughtless about the others." Gregor's lack of consideration, however, is only a response to his family's lack of consideration for him. Having been treated with neglect, he now neglects them in return, crawling out of the room in plain view of everyone. Gregor is now free: not only does he not have to work, but he is also no longer bothered by guilt. As an insect, he doesn't seem to need much more freedom than that. He has finally escaped all the traps that had been set for him. Gregor poses a question: "was he an animal if music could captivate him so?"
The renters stare at Gregor with amusement. His father attempts to drive them back into their room, but they stop on the threshold and the middle gentleman announces that he is giving notice and will not pay for the days he has lived there because of the “repugnant conditions” in the household. The others also give notice before retreating into their room.
Grete completely abandons all attachment that she had to her brother. She has gone beyond indifference for his care and wants to physically disown him. She tells her parents, “we can't carry on like this. Maybe you can't see it, but I can. I don't want to call this monster my brother, all I can say is: we have to try and get rid of it. We've done all that's humanly possible to look after it and be patient, I don't think anyone could accuse us of doing anything wrong."
After Gregor transforms, he is no longer able to support his family and they are forced to transform into providers for themselves. They turn from dependent to independent and ultimately hopeful for the future. This suggests that Gregor was holding his family back just as much as they were holding him back from his freedom. The story shows that metamorphosis, or change, can be good.
Gregor feels love for his family after everything that has happened and he thinks “back of his family with emotion and love. If it was possible, he felt that he must go away even more strongly than his sister.” Gregor resigns himself to dying for his family, and they accept it graciously. They are emotional when they realize how skinny he was after refusing to eat.